


Just Go With It

by SkadiLothbrok



Category: Wiedźmin | The Witcher (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, Kaer Morhen, Training, witcher!reader
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-22
Updated: 2020-11-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:27:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,386
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27676031
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkadiLothbrok/pseuds/SkadiLothbrok
Summary: After Triss saves the reader from the madman who made her a Witcher, she takes her to the best place she can think of... Kaer Morhen.
Relationships: Eskel (The Witcher)/Reader
Comments: 5
Kudos: 37





	1. Chapter 1

It had all been a mad rush since she'd taken you away from that place. You weren't sure what he'd done to you exactly, all you knew was that it hurt like hell and now you felt strange. Triss had told you that there would be answers once you were safe but for now you had to get away from the madman that had done this to you. A little over a day later, you found yourself walking into the imposing building called Kaer Morhen.

Once inside, Triss left you to sit by the fire whilst she went to find whoever you'd come here for. Stretching out your arms with a pop, you stood and paced around, trying to ease some of the tension in your legs after such a long time riding. It also didn't help that you had a lot of nervous energy built up. 

"Who are you?" somebody asked, making you turn in the direction of the voice. Before you stood a man with a red and black jacket and two swords at his back. It seemed that he had just arrived back from a hunt seeing that he had 2 rabbits hanging from his belt. 

"My name's Y/n" you finally answered him upon realising you'd been staring. 

"Well Y/n" he continued "what are you doing here?"

"Triss bought me here" you told him.

He nodded in approval of your answer before moving to a nearby table and placing down his kill. Hearing heels clacking on stone you looked to the doorway which Triss had left through. Feeling eyes on you, you returned your attention to the man who was yet to give you his name. "What?" you asked him nervously "something on my face?"

"How are you a Witcher?" he asked bluntly.

"I'm sorry what?" you frowned in confusion "I've never even met a Witcher before".

It was him frowning at you now as he continued to watch you closely. The last thing you'd expected him to do was walk over to you until there was barely space between you. He confused you further when he tilted his head to the side and seemed to...smell you? Once he'd satisfied whatever urge he'd had, he stepped back a little. 

Before you even had chance to ask him what he was doing, he grabbed you and forced you back against the wall, holding you in place "you are a Witcher, so why are you lying to me?"

"I don't know what you're talking about" you spoke quickly as you grabbed his arm in an attempt to push him off you. 

"Eskel! Let her go" Triss' voice came as such a relief "she's here with me".

Eskel turned to briefly look at Triss before reluctantly letting you go. With a scowl on your face, you shoved past him and moved closer to Triss. 

"I found her in some lunatic's lab in Oxenfurt" Triss told Eskel "he was experimenting on people to create new Witchers. Y/n is the only one that survived the Trials".

"Wait what?" you turned to ask her, this being news to you.

"Sorry" Triss at least gave you an apologetic look "not how I planned on letting you know". 

"What happened to the guy?" Eskel asked Triss as you made your way over to the fire to think over what Triss had just said. You were a Witcher now? What did that even mean though? You'd been just an apprentice book trader before, why would the man who'd taken you even have an interest in you?

"-away but I destroyed the lab and all of his notes" you caught the last of Triss' answer. 

"Why'd he do it?" Eskel asked.

Triss shrugged "I'm not sure, I found him after a nobleman's daughter was taken and I was paid to find her. Y/n was the only one still alive".

"And who are you then Y/n?" Eskel turned his attention back to you "what did he take you for?"

"I have no idea" you admitted "I'm just an apprentice book merchant".

"Great" Eskel scoffed "so now we have a new mutant who has no idea how to defend herself".

"Why'd you think I bought her here?" Triss fixed him with a look.

Eskel studied her for a moment before shaking his head "oh no, we can't train her. What good would it even do? What do you want her to do after Triss, take up the Path?" he was starting to get irate and you could tell.

"It's not like she can have a normal life anymore Eskel" Triss yelled at him.

"She's not cut out for this life!" Eskel shouted back.

"Hey, she's right here for fucks sake" you shut them both up by butting in "maybe fill her in on what the hell is going on". Both of them turned to look at you in surprise. People would often overlook you as the timid little book worm but you weren't afraid to make yourself heard when you needed to.

They both looked at you for a moment before Eskel sighed "fine, but the other's are getting involved too".

"Vesemir tells me that Lambert and Geralt both set out to clear a Wyvern nest this morning" Triss smirked "so you get her all to yourself until they get back".

"And where are you going?" he asked as Triss began to head for the exit. 

"To hunt that moron down" she replied before turning to you "you'll be okay here Y/n. I promise Eskel is sweeter than he looks". With that she simply turned and left you stood in the room with Eskel who looked just as confused by the turn of events as you were.

Looking back over to him you watched him sigh once more before turning to talk to you "c'mon, I'll show you around a bit, then you can help me prepare dinner".

Taken aback by his sudden change in demeanor to you, you stood with a stupid look on your face for a moment before snapping back to reality "uh, yeah okay". Following him out of the room, you weren't really sure what new journey you'd been started on yet but had no choice but to just go with it.


	2. Lambert Lambert, What A Prick

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You've begun your training with Eskel who is also slowly starting to thaw around you.

Over the past few days, you'd been pushed to your limits and felt absolutely exhausted. If you weren't in the courtyard training with Eskel, you were inside going over the lore with Vesemir. At least with that, you could rest your body a little.

"C'mon Y/n, how many times do I need to tell you to watch your footwork" Eskel scolded as you picked yourself up from the floor for what felt like the thousandth time that day. "Start again, and focus this time".

You went back over to the start of the course you'd grown to hate so much. If you couldn't even manage this then you'd have no chance at the Pendulum. At least the ground was a safer distance when you fell from here. Closing your eyes, you focused on your breathing, calming yourself before continuing. 

When you opened your eyes once more, you took off along the posts. As the sandbags swung towards you, you managed to dodge them without losing your balance. As you felt more at ease, you managed to move between the posts without having to look down at your feet at all. Concentrating on what Eskel had shown you, you moved along the track, spinning and dodging as you did so.

When your feet finally hit the ground at the end of the course, you can't help but smile. "Good. An improvement" Eskel walked over to you "we can go into some basic swordplay". Walking past you, he grabbed a pair of wooden swords from a rack and threw one towards you. Catching it out of luck more than anything else you looked at him to wait for instruction. 

You hadn't thought he'd just... come at you though. Reacting on instinct alone, you bought up your own sword to block the path of his own. Looking at him wide eyed you took a step back as he did. "Always keep an eye on the opponents footwork" he told you "it will help you know what they are going to do next". Doing just that, you kept your own sword in front of you defensively and awaited his next move.

He made a move to the left and you moved that way to counter his attack. But at the last minute he shifted and came at you from the right instead. Within seconds your sword was flung from your hand and you were pinned to the ground with him pointing his blade at your neck. "Of course, you should never expect an opponent to be entirely predictable" he told you before lowering his sword.

You let out a sigh before dropping your head back against the ground and closing your eyes in frustration.

"C'mon, get up" Eskel told you. 

The only response he got from you was a groan. 

"Y/n, c'mon" he told you once more. 

"Why bother" you complained "I always seem to end up back on my ass". Eskel actually laughed at you and you opened your eyes to shoot him a glare. Over the past few days he'd at least been a little less suspicious of you but this was the first time he'd actually smiled at you. "It's not funny Eskel, I'm tired, I'm sore and I suck".

He rolled his eyes at you before coming back over to you and sitting a little away from you "you think anybody just picks this stuff up?"

You shrugged as you sat upright.

"I can't count how many times I fell down" he held your gaze "but I always got back up. That's what matters".

With a sigh, you spun yourself around to sit facing him "this is all so insane still. The other week I was learning how to price up books and now I'm here learning how to use a sword". You shook your head "I didn't ask for any of this".

"I know you didn't" Eskel's voice sounded a lot softer than normal. "I tell you what" he stood and held out his hand to pull you up "why don't I teach you some of the more fun stuff?"

"Like what?" you asked as you took his hand. 

"Signs" he grinned at you "as long as you promise to hit Lambert with an Aard when they get back".

You laughed at him before nodding "not sure that's the best way to make a first impression but fuck it".

"That's my girl" he laughed lightly before turning and leading you back inside.

You didn't want to admit that when he'd said that your heart had jumped a little. Despite knowing that he meant nothing by it, you could feel a blush trying to show on your face. Willing it away, you concentrated on looking at the walls as you followed behind him. 

\--

"I've not seen a nest that size in a while" Geralt commented as he and Lambert made their way up from the stables.

"What, you not keeping up as easy in your old age Geralt?" Lambert taunted as he made his way through the door first. Before Geralt even had the chance to shoot back a witty retort, Lambert was sent flying back out of the door by a blast of energy.

Laughter soon followed "yes Y/n!" Geralt heard Eskel's voice "I knew you could do it".

As soon as you'd cast the Aard successfully at the approaching Witcher's, Eskel had come over to place a hand on your shoulder. "What the fuck!" Lambert had pulled himself back to his feet and was now heading over to where you and Eskel were stood. "That's not funny Eskel" Eskel simply continued to laugh though. 

"Who's this?" Geralt's eyes landed on you, making you feel nervous.

"This is Y/n" Eskel introduced you "long story but she had a run in with some idiot playing at making Witcher's and now I'm training her". You gave an awkward little wave to the new men, unsure what to say really. 

"You're tr- wait what?" Lambert seemed to grow angry "last thing we need is to be training more Witcher's".

Unsure whether or not his rage was directed at you or not, you remained quiet and let Eskel handle the situation "oh cut it out Lambert. She didn't choose this and she needs our help". The two men seemed to lock into a staring off and you rubbed your neck before looking away and finding yourself looking at Geralt instead, who was already watching you carefully.

Soon enough, it seemed Eskel and Lambert came to some sort of understanding and Lambert stormed off whilst muttering a string of curses to himself. "Don't worry about Lambert" Eskel assured you "he's a prick".

"In his defense, you did blast him with an Aard the moment he walked through the door" Geralt sent a sly smile your way.

"Well in my defense" you spoke up "I did promise Eskel and it was his idea" you started to feel less tense again. 

"That's how it's gonna be huh?" Eskel turned to you with a grin. 

"That's how it's gonna be" you nodded with a grin of your own. Eskel held your gaze for a moment longer before you heard Geralt clear his throat. As you broke eye contact with Eskel you found that Geralt was looking at you both with a strange look on his face.

"I'm gonna go get cleaned up. I stink of Wyvern guts" he walked past you both "and don't worry about Lambert" he looked to you "like Eskel said, he's a prick".


	3. Leaving Soon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Winter is fast fading and the boys will be leaving soon. What will that mean for Y/n?

It had been a little under 2 months now and the winter snow was beginning to clear. Whilst to most people this was a good thing, it made you start to worry. You knew that the guys only came back for the winter and would set off again once conditions allowed. Where would that leave you?

You'd been training and improving with Eskel. Despite him saying that the others were going to be helping to train you, he'd taken it upon himself in the end it seemed. Your footwork was a lot better than before and you could manage the basics of swordplay. There was still plenty of lore for you to go over and you'd not even made a start on alchemy yet. Signs were your favourite part and you'd advanced well with them. 

All of this meant little though, since you still wouldn't be able to hold your own in the real world. "That page must be really interesting Y/n" Vesemir's voice snapped you from your thoughts, realising you'd zoned out whilst reading about Elementals.

"Sorry" you apologised "was just thinking". 

"I'm not sure Elementals are really all that interesting" he stopped his own reading and looked up to meet your eyes "so what's bothering you?"

You sighed before shaking your head "it's nothing really, I just..." you sighed once more "the others will be leaving soon right? What then?"

He studied you carefully for a moment before answering "I tend to remain here at the keep, you can remain here and continue with your training". You tried to school your expression to a blank one but felt sure than your inner turmoil rang through. 

You forced a smile "I appreciate that Vesemir" you tried to leave the conversation at that, turning your attention back to your reading. 

"Of course" he pushed on "I feel that I am not the one you wish to stay with".

Keeping your attention on the book before you, you fought down the blush that threatened to break across your cheeks. "Nonsense, I will miss the others is all" you tried. 

From the corner of your eye you noticed Vesemir grinning "one more than the others I'm sure". Giving up on your act of reading you turned to face him again, opening and closing your mouth as you tried to come up with what to say. 

Before you had to though, the door opened and the man on your mind entered "you ready for sparring Y/n?" Sparing one last look to Vesemir who looked at you as though you'd just told him all he needed to know, you stood and placed the book back on the shelf. You practically ran from the room afterwards. 

"Wow, you are keen today" Eskel remarked as he looked at you with a raised eyebrow.

"I was getting tired of reading" you lied "need to work off some energy".

"Oh, so I should work you harder today then" he replied and had you biting your lip to fight off certain images.

"Y/n?" he grabbed your arm and pulled you to a stop "are you alright?" his tone was less playful now "you've been distant the past few days". As he stood there looking at you with actual concern on his face, you felt your heart aching to tell him. 

"I'm just thinking about you guys leaving soon" you admitted.

He seemed to take in what you were saying before answering "Vesemir will be able to keep your training going".

"That's not wh- I know that" you nodded as you looked to the ground "I just..." you couldn't find the words to finish that sentence. How were you supposed to tell him that you didn't want him to leave you? Sure, he was friendly to you now but your feelings towards him weren't those of a friend. 

"Y/n" he squeezed your arm lightly, reminding you that he still held your arm "you can talk to me, you know that right?"

"I know" you gave him an unconvincing smile before stepping back and turning away "are we training or what?"

\--

Each morning that you woke, the weather swung more and more towards spring. Sitting in the kitchen area, you sat with your breakfast before you. Geralt and Eskel sat across from you, talking about where they planned on setting off to within the next weeks. "-ing to meet Yen" you caught the last of Geralt's words.

"Oh yeah" Eskel grinned "just a friendly meeting or something else?" Geralt shot him a grin and Eskel laughed lightly and shook his head. 

Geralt turned to you next "do you have anybody missing you out there Y/n?" The question caught you off guard and it took you a moment to actually formulate an answer.

Shaking your head you looked down into your bowl "I didn't really know many people. My brothers died a few winters back with the sickness and my parents sent me away" you frowned slightly "they said they needed the coin and I was the only thing they had left to trade".

The silence that then hung over the three of you felt ice cold. Laughing lightly you shrugged "but hey, at least it was to the book merchant and not some brothel. I'm told that happens quite often these days". Spooning your food into your mouth you regretted saying anything and not just telling a lie. 

Geralt shot Eskel a look before moving the conversation back to their travel plans. "If you could travel anywhere where would you go?" it took you a moment to realise Eskel had asked you. 

"Oh, uh" you thought about it for a moment "I'm not sure really, most of what I know about the continent is what I've read from books" you bit your lip in thought "Toussaint always sounded beautiful".

"I'm not so sure" Eskel pointed to Geralt "this idiot has a vineyard there and he still comes back here".

Geralt shot Eskel a look "I come back here to see you idiots but if this is the attitude then I might stop".

You smiled to yourself as they began to playfully argue. 'I'm going to miss this' you thought. You'd never really had a close family before, even before your parents traded you, your brothers were quite a bit older than you and tended to leave you out. Finishing your breakfast you excused yourself and left for your room. 

Geralt waited until he was sure you were out of earshot before turning more serious "Y/n's sad lately, have you noticed that?"

"Of course I have" Eskel frowned "I asked her a few days ago but she didn't really say much". 

When Eskel looked up he found Geralt looking at him as though he was an idiot. "What?" he asked him.

"C'mon Eskel" Geralt shook his head at his brother "it's not that hard to tell what the issue is".

"Well what is it?" Eskel had no idea what Geralt was getting at.

"She knows you're leaving soon" Geralt prompted.

"Yeah, so? I assure her Vesemir will keep up her training"

"She's not bothered about the training" Geralt sighed "she's bothered about you leaving".

"But I told her-"

"You're not listening Eskel" Geralt cut him off "she doesn't want you to go".

"Why not?" Eskel frowned before catching onto what Geralt was saying "wait, do you mean that she- no she- what?"

"She likes you Eskel" Geralt gave up on subtlety "and the way you look at her I'd say it wasn't one sided".


	4. Been Waiting All Winter To Do That

As the day wore on, Eskel thought more and more about what Geralt had said. Sure, he and you were friends but that was all right? Sure being around you made him feel lighter. More like he had decades ago when he was younger and less worn down by the world. But that was just... he wasn't sure what that was. Besides, he knew that romance was never a good idea for Witcher's. But then that was with humans. You were a Witcher too now. 

"Something wrong?" your voice snapped him out of it "you didn't show for training?" He found you looking at him with worry and remembered that he was supposed to be meeting you in the courtyard about half an hour ago. 

"Nothing" he stood up "sorry, I just got caught up with something". You looked around his room and no doubt caught onto the lie but didn't call him out on it. "I was just about to head down" he lied. Nodding at him once more, you turned and made your way back out of the room. 

'Eskel is being weird' you thought as you made your way down the stairs and out to the courtyard. You could hear his footsteps following behind you but neither of you spoke to the other. Once outside, you strolled over to the weapons rack and grabbed the blunt swords, turning to hand one to Eskel. He took it without a word and you focused your min on sparring. 

Usually, Eskel would be quick to come at you but he seemed distracted today. Deciding to make a move, you lunged at him and he blocked but didn't seem as quick as usual. Pushing on, you swung the sword again and again, actually managing to push him back a little. When you managed to hook your leg behind his knee and topple him off balance you stopped, sure now that something was wrong. 

"Eskel, wha-" you started to ask but he rushed forward and...kissed you? The shock wore off and you started to kiss him back before coming to and stepping away "Eskel..." you let out a shaky breath as you tried to slow your breathing.

"Sorry, I just" Eskel looked at you with actual fear in his eyes "I shouldn't have done that".

You frowned upon realising that he thought his actions were unwelcome "it's not that I don't want to Eskel" you confessed "but where is this coming from?"

His fear dissipated slightly. "You've been sad lately and I wasn't sure why. Geralt said that it... that's not important. Point is, it made me think about what this is" he gestured between the two of you "and I realised that I want you Y/n".

You weren't sure you were even hearing him right anymore "you want me?"

He nodded slightly and you were convinced you must be imagining things. A smile broke across your face and you stepped closer to him once more, but before you could join your lips to his a blast of energy sent you both flying. 

As you pulled yourself up from the ground where you'd landed all you heard was laughter. "Yes! I've been waiting all winter to do that" Lambert was stood near the lone tree in the courtyard holding his stomach as he laughed "perfect".

Looking over to where Eskel had landed you shared a look with him before he nodded and smiled. Turning back to Lambert, he'd stopped laughing and was watching you both warily. As soon as you and Eskel set off running in his direction he turned and headed back into the keep, slamming the door shut behind him.

Eskel and you met at the door and stopped. As you met eyes you spoke in unison "what a prick". The two of you laughed before Eskel closed the distance between you and placed his hand on your cheek. Waiting for a moment to allow you to pull away if you wanted to before kissing you.

This time, you didn't stop. You didn't even hesitate to show him how much you'd been wanting this these past months. It could have been minutes or hours by the time you pulled apart, leaning your forehead on his. "Come with me" Eskel whispered to you. 

"What?" you needed to be sure you'd heard him right.

"Come with me" he repeated "I can keep your training up and look after you until you're ready".

"I don't want to be a burden" you bit your lip anxiously, desperate to say yes, despite yourself.

"You won't be" he assured you. Staring into his eyes you found your answer clear as day.

"Okay" you smiled wide.

"Okay?" he smiled too as he confirmed your answer.

"Okay" you repeated with a nod before kissing him once more. The kiss was briefer this time but just as enjoyable. Eskel took your hand in his before pushing open the keep door. "Now let's go get Lambert" you giggled.


End file.
